Little Falls transcript., 1887-05-20
AsWAlIP ANGEL.
He W. Aoquittsd--A c.rion. Crini,al Prossc,

5 A4bWAN1P ANGEL #
30 '' w Acquitted = c:riona cri.t,.l Proaeea-
The st. Louis Globe Democrat de-
scribes q curious trial which took
place III the circuit court at Murphys
boro, Ill, recently: 81
At the close of the court the sheriff
announced that q prisoner was Ian
guishing in jail charged with stealing
q skiff on the Mississippi. He de
scribed the prisoner in terms usually
applied to half-civilized bordersmen
or to wild men OF the side.show, and
sugge sted a slight case OF non com
pos mentis. =, :E.s- i .
Bring the prisoner into court
commanded the Judge, amid general
laughter. !.
The prisoner stalked down the aisle
All eyes turned on him, and every,
body laughed He was nondescript
caricature OF nature-a perfect swamp
angel-over six feet tall, gaunt visae:
ed, sallow-complexioned, long, unev.
en-, black whiskers, with coarse, black,
unkept, hair, falling uncombed over
his shoulders and forehead. under
which were pair of dark, keen, rest.
less eyes. He wore a c]ose-fttinl
jumper, a pair of overalls rolled ul
to the knees, showing the black pants
beneath, which terminated four inches
above rough, boat-like brogans,
showing his ankles, innocent of socks
Like a true child of nature he walked
into the prisoners box with g. non
chalant air OF innocence, and don't
care look that seemed to say, "Well,
I'm ready for the sacrifice
The judge smiled, leaned forward
from his high eminence and said,
sharply:
"You are the man who stole the
boat, are your"
Swamp Angel-Wal, yes; but thar's
a pint in the case, ledge. They charg-
ed me with stealin' it in the morning,
but I didn't steal it till after dark.
lGreat laughter. Idon't want to be
tried till they get Peter Cooper This
partner). He is q worser man ner
am. He steals wimmen, girls, fish
hooks and everything. Roars oil
laughter, joined in by the court. |
Pete wanted to keep the boat, but /
intended to return it arter took my
things down the river.
The court-Then we must defer trial
till the August term.
S. A.-No, jedge, I don't want to lie
in jail till August. I want ter be tried
now.
The court-Have you an attorney
to defend you?
S. A.-No, and don't want any. ]
hain't got no money but few Ger
man coins for keepsakes. They
wouldn't hire a good lawyer, and !
wouldn't have no poor one. He'd
only make it worse for me.
The court appointed three prom
inent lawyers to defend him. The
states attorney assumed that all was
ready for trial and called witnesses,
when the Swamp Angels attorney
whispered something to him and he
sprang up and demanded an opening
statement. The nonplussed state's 8
attorney complied, after which the de-
fendant stated his side OF the case.
With awkward gestures and un-
couth language he admitted stealing
the boat, but blamed Peter Cooper
for it.
The people clearly established the
stealing Of the boat by three good
witnesses. The S. A. defendant then
took the stand in his own behalf, while
his three prominent lawyers sat back,
giving him pointer now and then,
and enjoying the laughable farce, as
did the entire court and audience. It
was the missing link before the highest
attainment OF civilization. To the
jury he owned stealing the boat, but
said it was leaky and not worth much;
it wasn't worth over $5. He said he
would pay the boys $1.5O a. day for
the time they lost in going after him.
He agreed to give the jury his
blankets and pistol and knife, but
"he'd be burned if he'd give up his
good old rifle," of which he spoke very
afectionately. He'd go to the peni-
tentiary for fifteen years first.
He commenced telling OF loe:rollings
and whisky. His counsel whispered
that some of the jury were temperate
men. He then related how one day
on the island he had determined to
quit drinking, and he had never drank
drop OF liquor since. He was tenn
perance. His counsel whispered that
be must establish good reputation
for truth and veracity, whereupon he
vehemently declared that his char
acter was unquestioned on the island
where he lived. This brought down
the house with laughter.
When the jury took the case he in
sisted on retiring with them to explain
the situation, but this the court heart
lessly denied.
After an hour of wrestling with the
case, the jury, to the CONSERVATION of
the court and audience, and the dis
gust Of the prosecution brought in a
verdict OF not guilty. The S. A. was
happy. After adjournment, while the
judge and states attorney were con-
versing, he approached them and
thanked them. He said to the attor-
ney: "You fought pretty hard agin me
but l suppose it was your duty. But
you, jedge," he continued, "acted the
man all the way through. hain't
got no money, but as soon as I get
back to the island I'll send you up a
whole bar'l Of fish, and you kin divide
them up just as you please"
The last seen OF him he was trudg-
ing out of town with his blanket, pis.
tol, knife, rifle and AK, measuring a
bee line southwestward, looking like
Fenimore Cooper's pioneer, seeking
his solitary island home. :
Boston Medical Journal: At ban.
quet given to Mr.. Theodore Metcalfby